Fun, Easy and Creative Way to Retain Beginners Presented By Michael Attara

Purpose & Objective PURPOSE: provide information that convinces you of the opportunity to Grow the Game of Golf and how you can make a difference at your facility by creating fun, easy and creative ways to retain beginners and re-engage the lapsed golfer. OBJECTIVE: get more of you committed to Get Golf Ready type programs, Golf 2.0 and Growing the Game of Golf

What You will Take-Away From This Course: Overview Why is this important for you and your facility ▫New players and engaging the lapsed player drives more rounds, membership and facility usage ▫Creates more job security and opportunity for you and a better relationship with your owners, boards and members ▫Gives you and your staff and opportunity to make more money How to implement these programs ▫Understanding what the customer is looking for and how to retain them ▫How to market and promote you facility to beginners and the lapsed golfer ▫Utilize the programs that have a proven track record of attendance and loyalty for you r club ▫How to train and reward your staff Summary Questions/Discussion

Background Growth of U.S. Golf ▫Source: Golf Datatech (PGA Magazine), National Golf Foundation Rounds Played % -0.02% -1.81% -1.9%

Less Rounds Played on More Courses Smaller Pie – Smaller Pieces

Background Who Plays Golf in the U.S. Source: Golf Datatech (PGA Magazine), National Golf Foundation Golfers In Millions

Question – Why aren’t we changing these trends Interested beginners Into Occasional Players Occasional or Lapsed Golfers Into Core/Avid Golfers Core/Avid Becoming Occasional Golfers Perception: Too Expensive Too Time Consuming Too Difficult/Intimidation

The Challenge - Opportunity To make your facility known as “The fun and affordable place to learn and play golf” To engage new players and lapsed golfers To increase your facilities revenues and overall stability in the golf industry

You will benefit from: 1. Understanding what the beginner is looking for after the lessons end Ask questions and have them fill out surveys on the first day of class Have the instructor give them discounts for the next class or lesson and help them decided which class to sign up for before they leave their last session or lesson Guide them with club purchases Offer inexpensive starter sets to keep them practicing and playing. Advertise them as a package with Get Golf Ready or by themselves. Offer beginner leagues, shorter “Tee it forward” courses and 6 or 9 hole off time rates

You will benefit from: 2. Ways to market and promote your facility to beginners and recent students  Use the Playgolfamerica.com webiste  Utilize local Community Colleges, Universities, and Town Recreation Departments to fill your Get Golf Ready Classes  Play Golf America Day – Host or participate  Free Lesson Month  Social Media - Craig’s list, Facebook, and Twitter  Involve your staff with an incentive program they can benefit from and track through your POS system  Train your entire facility staff so they are familiar with the philosophy, available programs, and promotions they can help sell.

You will benefit from: 2. Ways to market and promote your facility to beginners and recent students Utilize the Playgolfamerica.com website ▫ This is a free national tool available to post, market, register students, and track your numbers ▫ Has best practices and templates available to help you create programs that work for your demographic, facility and clients. ▫ Formulates a data base that you can use to contact your customers via about events and promotions you are running

Utilize local Community Colleges, Universities, and Town Recreation Departments to market and fill your classes for free ▫ Community Colleges and Universities send out through their Continuing Education Departments seasonal catalogs of all the courses they are offering in conjunction with local community businesses ▫ These catalogs go to every home within their region. ▫ They will register all of the customers and contract out to your facility for an agreed dollar amount ▫ Local Town Recreation Departments do the exact same thing within their towns. ▫ All you have to do is make a phone call and have programs with descriptions and prices that you want to promote. You will benefit from: 2. Ways to market and promote your facility to beginners and recent students

Play Golf America Day and Free Lesson Month ▫Play Golf America Day is a free and fun golf festival held in states all over the country ▫ It an opportunity for your facility to host and gain exposure to hundreds of new customers that the PGA helps market and promote for you ▫ If you don’t host volunteer and participate. It will give you an opportunity to network and promote your facility ▫ Sign up for the free lesson month. Give free 10 min. lessons so you can then get your programs and information into the hands of many potential new customers

You will benefit from: 2. Ways to market and promote your facility to beginners and recent students Social Media – Craig’s List, Facebook and Twitter ▫ Utilize all the hottest social media sites to promote your programs and keep people updated and informed with what you are doing for FREE! ▫ Millions of people search these forums daily ▫ You can post coupons and referral programs that will help you use your existing customers and members to share and bring new ones to your sites ▫ Any form of free advertising and exposure is valuable

You will benefit from: 2. Ways to market and promote your facility to beginners and recent students Involve your staff with incentive programs they can benefit from and track through your POS System ▫ Creating an incentive program for your instructors and golf shop staff can help you retain and even re engage the lapsed golfer at your facility ▫ Once your instructor or golf shop staff has taught or signed up a customer they attach their initials to that customer ▫ If that customer continues to spend at your facility with more instruction, merchandise, golf, range or food and beverage you can track that information through your POS System by adding them to a loyalty program ▫ Your staff can see how often they are spending and how much. Once they reach $500 or more give your staff 10% of whatever dollars are spent. ▫ This motivates your staff to create a relationship that lasts with that customer. If they look up and see Mr. and Mrs. White haven’t been around they can reach out and help get them back into your facility while strengthening that customers experience

You will benefit from: 2. Ways to market and promote your facility to beginners and recent students Train you entire facility staff so they are familiar with the philosophy, available programs, and promotions they can help sell ▫ Having your entire facility staff from cart guys, rangers, starters, golf shop staff, wait staff, bartenders, locker room attendants, and halfway house staff familiar with your philosophy, programs, and promotions helps to reach every type of customer that comes through the facility. ▫ Have your staff mention any promotions that you are having and programs you are running that may benefit your facility. ▫ Ie “Good morning Mr. Green did you know we are running Family Fridays where you could bring your wife and kids and they can get instruction and an introduction to the game while you play golf and then have dinner together in the restaurant? It’s less then dinner and a movie” ▫ Post on the tables in your restaurant all the programs you are offering now as well.

You will benefit from: 3. Specific programs that have a proven track record of attendance and loyalty to your club Get Golf Ready I – ▫ $99 for 5hrs. of instruction or $299 – 5hrs of instruction and a beginner set of golf clubs. Get them on course and hooked right away ▫Have equipment available in the beginning so they don’t feel they need to invest more upfront Get Golf Ready II – ▫$129 for 6hrs. of instruction reinforcing basic fundamentals on the course Get Golf Ready Beginner leagues with instructor supervision and without. ▫$35 for 2 hrs. on course play with an instructor to help supervise answering questions, helping learn rules, and teaching you course management. ▫$25 for 9 holes and cart paired with other beginners and novices of their playing ability.

You will benefit from: 3. Specific programs that have a proven track record of attendance and loyalty to your club Get Golf Ready Classes and Family Classes: How we can break down the barriers that are scaring our new players away! ▫ Be sure to make your instruction very simple and short ▫ Get them doing and playing quickly so they get hooked right away ▫ Get them on the golf course immediately so they feel comfortable and want to play. ▫ Make sure they understand the “Tee it forward” concept. ▫ Hand out coupons that discount the next class and information about what is next and how they continue ▫ Offer an option of 9-holes with a cart and dinner for $35 per person or if someone in the family doesn’t play, do 2hrs. of instruction and dinner at the same time for $35. It can be a family activity where at the end everyone can eat and discuss their round and or instruction

You will benefit from: 3. Ideas on how to utilize your facility and overcome limitations in facilities and or staffing availability If you don’t have a lot of facility space rotate your groups with stations remember that you can have one group at the putting green while another is in the short game area and one is hitting on the driving range. Use the available space on your golf course to teach short game and to hit a few shots and keep moving If you have a ball room you can always run classes there later in the evening or during the cold, rain, or excessive heat ▫ You can use snag or almost golf equipment for enclosed spaces If you need additional staff to help with these programs take advantage of PGA PGM Interns Other options are to use local college golf coaches or physical education teachers you can train to teach the basic course. ▫ This in turn can help us get in school physical education programs trained and running with their new knowledge base. These students in turn will transition and become players at your facility

Why Should You Care? Fewer Players = A decline in the game and industry You love the game You are PGA member dedicated to promoting the game Trend could get worse Less opportunities for jobs and financial growth

Results More Adults and Juniors Enjoying Golf You Earn and Grow Professionally Your Facility – 1-4% more rounds, more revenue U.S. Golf – real growth

Summary Our Challenge - Reverse Negative Trends ▫Less rounds – Less Core/Avid Golfers ▫Less revenue – less opportunity Provide Programs with Playing Opportunities ▫Get Golf Ready ▫9 hole golf ▫Less challenging – more fun

Questions Discussion